The World’s Oldest Veg Restaurant Offers Vada Sambhar And Palak Paneer In Switzerland

You probably know Switzerland is the land of chocolate and cheese, but did you know that it’s actually home to the longest-running vegetarian restaurant in the world?

That’s right.

Hiltl Restaurant in Zurich has been serving vegetarian meals for the last 117 years and is the Guinness-certified world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant.

Who started it?

This eating joint was established in 1898 under the name ‘Vegetarian Home and Abstinence Café’. 3 years later, a travelling German tailor named Ambrosius Hiltl fell ill and was told that he would die an early death until he eliminated meat from his diet.

And so, Restaurant Hiltl was born.

In 1905, he understood the merits of vegetarianism and took over as the manager of the café. 4 generations later, things have changed, but the Hiltl family still serves delicious vegetarian food.

Visited by 1,500 people a day, this place has served more than 40 million dishes till date.

Hiltl has a wide range of choices, apart from the Thai curries and Mediterranean grilled veggies, it offers Sambhar Vada, Palak Paneer to a variety of curries, salads and chutney.

A restaurant that’s popular with celebs and tourists alike.

Surely, it has become an icon in Zurich and why not? Its guests include celebrities such as Paul McCartney. India’s former prime minister Morarji Desai also visited the restaurant during an official visit to the country.

More than 100 years ago, when the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant opened its door, it was an entirely different story.

Ambrosius Hiltl would certainly be very happy if he saw his restaurant today.

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